In my readings, I talk a lot about trusting your intuition. But what does that mean? 

The adage “trusting your gut,” or “listening to your heart” are phrases that suggest the intuitive sense is felt deeply in our bodies. If you’ve ever made an important decision that you’ve felt “sick to your stomach” over, this was intuition trying to intervene. Faced with a choice, you look to what you just can’t swallow. Here, you have to trust what your gut is telling you. Your soul has nutrients that it needs, just like the body. 

Intuition is bodily, but it has to be governed by intention and reflection. Through reflection, you will be able to see if you’re repeating past mistakes. What happened the last time you leapt headfirst into an all-consuming relationship? What happened last time you took a job across several state lines without a plan?

The love ended up becoming short-lived, its foundation built on romanticized, unrealistic ideals. The move across state lines didn’t fix things; you found the same inner demons tagging along for the ride. They did a tap-tap-tap on your shoulder before your bags were even unpacked. 

The love you needed was housed inside yourself all along. What you thought was listening to your heart was actually just impulse. In those scenarios, you became separated from yourself. 

Intuition requires you to listen to your heart, brain, and past experiences. In your mind resides logic as well as past lessons. If red flags are raised by the mind, it’s a sign that you heart is in peril. Your heart and mind need to work together.

There are a few other great ways to work with your intuition. One is signs from the universe. Being open to signs from the universe is, in effect, seeing what information, barriers, or doors naturally seem to emerge when considering an important decision. This method is a bit more for the mystically inclined, although I think most people can relate to uncanny signs.

Let’s say you take a chance and move to a warmer climate. You’re from Michigan, but you loved Tucson, Arizona, after a great vacation there. So you decide to move there. You arrive with big hopes and dreams, and you find a job that seems to be agreeable. Sounds dreamy.

However, within a few months you find your job to be full of back-stabbing people and unmanageable responsibilities. You meet a lover, and it disintegrates quickly. You make several friends, but find they are not reliable. Nothing seems to be working out, try as you might. 

Setback can be normal, but sometimes they beg us to reconsider something that we weren’t 100% sure about. Was moving to Tucson the best decision? You start to reflect about the possibility of moving back. 

That’s when several weird things happen. You go for a hike on a scenic mountain pass, and you see a mountain lion in the distance who looks at you like prey. When you arrive home, there is a hissing snake on your stoop. After some shoo-ing, you are able to enter your house. But once inside, you glance up and there’s a scorpion chillin’ in your wall. You’re in danger. The signs are clear that you best leave now.  

Sounds far-fetched, but actually the above story is true.

Omens can work powerfully with intuitive logic. 

Another method to consider is the questioning method. If you are faced with a decision, see how much uncertainty arises. Let’s say the promotion or career opportunity you’ve always wanted presents itself. However, as the offer unfolds, you seem to have more questions than answers. 

You have to fly out for monthly meetings: Do I want to be apart from my partner that much?

You’ll have a lot more clients: How will I manage expanding this much? Things brings me more dough, but will more clients make me happier?

You’re starting a new podcast with a collaborator that will launch you into the public eye and bring fame: I want success, but how much do I value fame? Do I want this attention?

If you find yourself saying NO to three questions about the decision, it’s probably a sign that it’s not right for you. Maybe you just have one giant NO to one question. Unhappy answers to questions will tell you the answer. A new opportunity is not always the best way forward. So, intuition can come in the form of doubt. 

Is trusting your intuition easy or straightforward? Not always. But they more you practice the easier it becomes. Physically you can feel intuition in your gut, your body, and your mind. Spiritually, you can find intuition in omens and through your own reflective process. Intuition isn’t beamed down from the heavens; it’s a relationship you share with your divine essence.